Republicans Won't Dispute Trump's Claim To Total Immunity From Prosecution

WASHINGTON ― Donald Trump made the extraordinary argument in federal court on Tuesday that he should be immune from criminal prosecution for any action taken while he was in the Oval Office, with his lawyers even conceding the possibility that a president could use the military to assassinate a political rival and still escape jail time.

Yet on Capitol Hill, just a few blocks away from the hearing at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, many congressional Republicans couldn’t find it in themselves to reject the reasoning that presidents are above the law.

GOP senators hemmed and hawed, begged off questions by saying they were unfamiliar with the details of the case or simply deferred to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has yet to weigh in on the matter. It’s the latest example of Republicans giving Trump a pass as he steamrolls his way to the GOP presidential nomination.

“I choose not to get involved and comment about any of the people running for the nomination,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday when asked if he still believed Trump could be held liable in court for his actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol while Congress met to certify the electoral vote.

McConnell had initially blamed Trump for the Jan. 6 insurrection, but he has since been loath to criticize him and has said he would support the former president if he becomes the Republican nominee.

“It depends on what they do,” added Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) when asked if he agreed with the notion that presidents are immune from prosecution.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) called it “a plausible argument,” while Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said, “You’re going to have to let the courts